The Exit

“I don’t really care if she’s dead!”

The room fell silent. Officer Filgren could hear his watch ticking as he contemplated what to say and do next. He was surprised to hear her say those words out loud, although he’d already picked the indifference from the woman’s demeanor. Usually, when someone walked into his office to report a missing person, they were either extremely timid and afraid, or absolutely horrified and hysterical. Mrs. Hobbs was neither, and he suspected that she’d been coerced into meeting him to report this.

She and her sister had had an argument pertaining Leah’s behavior, the last time they’d spoken. This was a theme for their relationship since they were teenagers. When their mother passed on, Mrs. Hobbs, Amanda, took on the responsible role while Leah disappeared into one bad habit…after another, after another. Amanda made sure they both had clothes on their backs and kept the lights on in their home with piece jobs Amanda took on while she completed her Law degree. Leah’s struggle with drug abuse is what threw them both into years of disagreement and silent treatment.

When Leah finally graduated at the University of California, three years after the initial completion date for her first degree, Amanda was both relieved and resentful. She’d married Mr. Hobbs a few weeks after her sister’s graduation, leaving their family home and everything in it to Leah.

Their relationship was marred from that time on, and the distance made it almost non-existent. Amanda would admit to her husband a few times a year, that she missed Leah, but it never amounted to anything. Leah had conquered the drug habit upon receiving her first advance, from her first book deal, a victory that she’d wanted to share with Amanda but didn’t. Couldn’t. And now, Leah was supposedly missing.

Officer Filgren folded his arms over his chest and sat back in his chair.

“Mrs. Hobbs. Amanda. Tell me what’s really going on with your sister. You’re here, so I know you’re somewhat worried about her. So…”

He let the prompt linger while he stared her down. His phone vibrated briefly on his clear table while Amanda fidgeted in her chair.

“Look, Officer Fil?”

He leaned forward, placing his forearms on the desk and frowned slightly.

“Filgren.”

“Yes. Sorry, Officer Filgren. My sister and I are not close. We haven’t seen eye-to-eye since our mother died in our teens. It’s like mom’s death gave Leah a free pass to give up on any kind of life. She’s had a run with drugs and bad friends for as long as I can remember, but I don’t really know if that’s the case now. We haven’t spoken in years.”

Amanda took a breath and swallowed down the lump that was bloating her throat.

“This week, for some reason, my husband kept pushing me to come here and check on her. As opposed to leaving a long text over the phone. He said he had a feeling it was time for reconciliation with her. That maybe she needed me more than I thought and maybe I need her too. I can argue ‘til sunset all the reasons I don’t believe that but it’s not necessary right now. The thing is…I went over to our family home looking for her. I got excited about what surprising her would do. But I got there late on Tuesday, hoping to catch her with a man maybe. Would’ve been a great way to break the years-long ice between us. I’d have played the older sister card and landed us on banter territory, at the very least. But there’s no one there. She wasn’t home and hasn’t been since I arrived here. And it’s Friday now. Funny enough, my keys from all those years ago still unlock the doors. That’s also strange but with Leah I’m not too surprised.”

Amanda paused again, feeling like she’d shared more than enough to give the stern cop some context.

“Okay, now we have direction. You know, in a case like this one, it’s not advised to immediately put out an APB even regionally because Leah’s an adult. Additionally, the nature of your relationship with her makes it even more unlikely that this is an emergency. She could be on vacation, or at a friend’s house for the next few days. Who knows? Maybe she’s on her way back right now.”

Another silence fell upon the room. Amanda felt the lump in her throat again and decided to allow it. The truth was that she did care if her sister was alive or not. And right in this moment, in this office, she wanted nothing more than for Leah to walk in and tell her this was all a prank. Amanda wiped her tears and tried to speak again. Officer Filgren was writing something in a mini notebook that looked like those used by waiters to take down orders.

“So, I may not know much about what’s been going on with her lately, but I’m here because I genuinely think something’s up. I don’t know what, but I need your help. I’ve tried her phone and email. Called some of her Uni friends. They know as much as I do. But one distant friend of hers mentioned that Leah was engaged at some point this year, but that ended swiftly and Leah acted like it never happened. Deleted their photos on her Instagram page and then posted something about freedom a few days later.”

Amanda pulled out her phone from her bag and showed Officer Filgren the screenshot she’d taken.

“The friend said his name was a…Ben something. I wrote it down here somewhere.”

Amanda looked for the sticky note she’d shoved in one of her bag’s inside pockets. She found it and handed it to Officer Filgren, who was now filled with compassion. He now saw the compassion he’d expected to hear in her voice when their meeting began. Now he had a reason to at least look into this.

“Alright. I’ll find out about this Ben Evans first. Give me a picture of her we can use so my guys can keep an eye out for her. We don’t want to rule out that she’s still in town just yet. Keep trying her cell and stopping by the house.”

Officer Filgren rose and walked toward his office door. He paused with his hand resting on the handle. He could see a tear streaming down Amanda’s right cheek and suppressed the urge to comfort her.

“We don’t know anything yet, Amanda. Let’s not draw conclusions until we have some information.”

With that said, Amanda nodded and stood to leave while Officer Filgren followed her out to brief a few of his colleagues.